Wire tying device for hay balers



March 24, 1942. EVERHART ET AL 2,277,394

WIRE TYING DEVICE FOR HAY BALERS Filed Feb. 25, 1941 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 a Bf A Home) March 24, 1942. L. G EVERHART ET AL 2,277,394

WIRE TYING DEVICE FSH HAY' E; .n-ER5;

Filed 2.5. 194.3 23 Sheets-Sheet 2 A Harney Rarch 24, 1942- 1 G. EVERHART ET Al.

WIRE TYING DEVICE FOR HAY B'ALERS 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 25, 1941 l NNMNR Inventors A Home)I March 24, 1942. G, EVERHART ETAL 2,277,394

WIRE TYING DEVICE FOR HAY lBALERS 1941 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 25,

March 24, 1942. l.. G. EVERHART ET AL 2,277,394

WIRE TYING DEVICE FOR HAY BALERS Filed Feb. 25, l9i41 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Inventors i A orney WIRE TYING DEVICE EOE HAY BALERS Filed Feb. 25, 1941 8 Shee'bS-Sheet 6 A flor/1e)l March 24, 1942. G EVERHART ETAL 2,277,394

WIRE TYING DEVICE FOR HAY BALERs Filed Feb. 25, 1941 8 Sheets-Sheet '7 mwN A Harney March 24, 1942. L Q EVERHART ET AL 2,277,394

WIRE TYING DEVICE FOR HAY BALERS 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Feb. 25, 1941 a /vrence [Ier/a. 7'7" Attori/q1' Patented Mar. 24, 1942 WIRE TYING DEVICE FOR HAY BALERS Lawrence G. Everhart, Glenn H. Everhart, and Walter D. Everhart, Winston-Salem, N. C.

Application February z5, 1941, seria1N0.3so,53s

(ci. 14o-'13) 6 Claims.

.This invention relates to an automatic hay' baler wire placing and tying device, and has for the primary object the provision of a device of this character which will reduce to a minimum hand operations in the tying of bales produced by a hay baler,

Another object of this invention is the provision of a device of the aboveistated character which will position tying wires in a Vbaler and tie the wiresfand cut said wires from a wire supply so thaton each bale of hay delivered from the baler it will be bound properlyy for storage or shipment.

With these and other objects in view as will become more apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be vhereinafter more fully described and claimed.

For a complete understanding of our invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, Which- Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation illustrating a portion of a hay baler equipped with a` wire tying device constructed in accordance with our invention. a

Figure 2 is a fragmentary top plan view partly in section showing a portion of the hay baler with the presentA invention applied thereto.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view illustratingl the needles for the placing of the tying wires in said needles'.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary side elevation, partly in section illustrating the wire clamp, wire cut-- ting means and the operating means for said parts.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary top plan view illustrating the wire clamp, portions of the needles positioning the wires in the clamp and the operating means therefor.

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 6 6 of Figure 5 showing the wire twister or tying device. A

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken on the line l-l of Figure 5 illustrating the wire twister or tying device. i

Figure 8. is a sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Figure '7 illustrating the clutch of the tying device.

Figure 9 is a perspective view illustrating a locking dog for the clutch.

Figure 10 is a fragmentary side elevation illustrating a portion of one of the pushers.

inv

the baler and the support for Figure 16 is a diagrammatical view showing one l of the baling wires leading off of a wire supply reell and extending about the interior of a baler hopper and having its ends secured by the clamp.

Figure 17 is a diagrammatical view illustrating the complete wrapping of the Wire in bale formation.

Figure 18 is a diagrammatical view illustrating the wire ready to be inserted into the twister or tying device.

Figure 19 is a diagrammatical view illustrating the wire positioned in the twister or tying device ready to be twisted.

Figure 20 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating a portion of the tie wire twisted or tied.

Figure 21 is a fragmentary side elevation illustrating a main clutch and a portion of the `operating means. y

Figure 22 is a fragmentary plan view partly in section illustrating the main clutch and its control.

Figure 23 is a detail sectional view takenon the line 23-23 of Figure 22.

Figure 24 is a view similar to Figure 23 illustrating the clutch engaged while Figure 23 illustrates the clutch disengaged.

Referring in detail tothe drawings, the numeral 5 indicates-a fragmentary portion of a hay baler, consisting primarily of the hopper 6, plunger Iv and the operating means therefor including bull gears 8 adapted to be driven in the usual manner. It is to be understood that the plunger l compresses the hay within the hopper trol, place the baling wires from a supply into the ballng hopper 4and to tie said wires and cut the wires from the wire supply so that when the bale is removed from the baler it will be properly bound for shipment or storage.

A shaft I is rotatably supported on the baler l and extends transversely thereof. The shaft I is equipped with a clutch III including a sprocket gear II' connected to a shaft I2 by a sprocket chain I2'. The shaft I2 is geared to one of the stub shafts of the bull gears I. Thus it will be seen that a drive has been established from the bull gears to the shaft I wherein the drive may be controlled through the use of the clutch II. The normal action of the clutch I3 is to interrupt the drive to the shaft I and may be manually actuated whenever it is proper to rotate the shaft I by the drive mechanism for the operation of the present invention on the baler.

The clutch II besides including the sprocket gear II' also' includes a sleeve I3 keyed on the shaft I and provides a Journal for the sprocket gear II' as well as one of the clutch elements of the clutch II, the hubof the gear forming the other clutch element. The sleeve I3 and the hub of the gear are provided ,with matched grooves I4. The sleeve I3 is further provided with a -bearing opening aligning with the groove I4 thereof A key Iltis Journaled in the bearing opening and includes a semi-cylindrical portion operable within the groove of the sleeve I3 and movable into the groove of the hub of the gear II when the grooves I4 are in matched relation and the key Il rotated, so as to establish a drive between the sprocket gear II' and the sleeve I3. A dog Il issecuredtcthekey Il andisacteduponby a coiled spring I1 tending to rotate the key in a position so that the semi-cylindrical portion thereof enters the companion grooves I4. A stop pin II may be provided on the sleeve I3 for limiting the movement of the dog II beyond a certain distance as would bring the semi-cylindrical portion of the key out of the groove of the gear II' when said dog is freed and under the action of the spring I1. A spring influenced finger II is pivoted on the dog and will occupy a position angularly to said dog when freed. The nger performs the function of a stop for a latch lever 2l under certain periods or conditions of operation of the clutch III. The latch lever 2I is pivotally mounted on a supporting plate 2I mounted on the frame of the baler and is actuated on by a spring 22 for the positioning of said lever against a stop 23 and in the path of the dog II so that normally when the clutch is disengaged to interrupt thezdrive to the shaft I the dog is partly overlaid by the latch lever also the finger II maintaining the latter in parallelism with a portion of the dog. At this time the key II is positioned so that the semi-cylindrical portion thereof lies only within the groove of the sleeve of the clutch, consequently the clutch may be at this time termed dcclutched.

When the lever 23 is pivoted through a means later described in detail. it is moved out of the path of the dog II as well as the finger II, the latter an angular position to prevent the lever 2I from returning into the path of the has made one complete revolution, the lever 23 having been disengaged from the finger II assumes a position in the path of the dog so that the dog will be engaged with said lever and bring about a reverse rotation of the key to interrupt the drive between the gear I I' and the hub and consequently declutch the clutch.

An operating shaft 24 is journaled on the supporting plate 2I as well as the frame of the baler and is provided with a handle 25 whereby the operator may rotate the operating shaft. An arm 23 is secured to the shaft 24 and carries a pin 21 engaged in a notch of a spring influenced dog 23 pivoted on the lever 23. The free end or notched end of the dog has a beveled face 23 riding against a cam 3Il carried by the supporting plate 2I.

When the operator rotates the shaft 24 in one direction it imparts an endwise movement to the dog 23 bringing about a pivotal movement of the lever 20 out of the path of the dog II. As the dog 23 moves yendwise it rides the cam 3l and is disengaged from the lug 21 so that after the shaftl I has made one complete revolution the lever 2l may bring about declutching of the clutch II regardless of the fact that the operator still places pressure. on the handle 2l, it being understood that this arrangement is merely a safety factor to assure the lever 2l. assuming a position of declutching the clutch after one complete revolution of the shaft I should the operator fail to release the handle 25 immediately after the handle has been operated into a position of b about clutching of the clutch. f

A reciprocal type needle mechanism is indicated in entirety by the character 3I and is located upon one side of the baler hopper and is actuated by the rotation of the shaft I. A cam 32issecuredtooneendoftheshaftlandriding the cam is an arm 33 formed on a sleeve 34 journaled upon a support 3| mounted on the baler.

Thesleeve34hasanarm33connectedtoabell4 crank lever 31 by linkage 33. The bell crank lever 31 is pivotally mounted on a support 3I mounted on the baler. The bell crank lever 31 operates the needle mechanism 3 I The needle mechanism 3I includes parallel spaced guide members 4I extending from one side of the baler hopper and have their free ends tied together, as shown at 4I. A head 42 is slidably mounted on the guide members and carries needles 4'3 having forked ends 44 provided with grooved rollers 4I. The head 42 is connected to the bell crank lever 31 by linkage 4I.

Coil springs 41 are connected to the head 42 for normally posltioningxhe roller carrying ends of the needles outside of the hopper I. the latter being provided with openings to permit the needles when driven to pass into the hopper and extend transversely thereof for thev purpose of carrying into the hopper tying wires 4I fed oi! of reels 4I rotatably mounted on the side of the hopper.

Itistobeunderstoodthatthepurposeofthe needles is to carry thvbaling or tying wires through the hopper to clamps II located on the opposite side of the hopper from the support for the needles. The action of the springs 41 is to retract the needles and to keep the arm 33 ridlnt the cam 32.

It is to be understood that when the needles 43 are actuated transversely of the hopper of the baler they carry the tie wires across the baler into the clamps Il. The clamps II are of duplicate construction which also applies to the operating means therefor. Therefore.v in the following only one of the clamps will be described s cincally as well as its operating means.

A cam shaft, is rotatably supportedon 'the side of the hopper and is geared to a shaft 52 which is in turn geared to a shaft 53. The shaft 53 is rotatably supported in hangers 54 carried by the baler. The shaft 53 is geared tothe shaft 9. The cam shaft 5| has secured thereto a series of cams for the operationof the clamps 50, wire cutting devices and wire tying devices, all o1'v which will be described in detail in the further description of the invention.

The clamp 56 includes a base member 55 suitably mounted on the baler and a plunger 56 slidable therein and having a head 51 coactive with the base 55 in gripping the wires. The plunger is urged into wire gripping position by a coil spring 58. The plunger 58 is engaged by a bell crank lever 59 pivotally mounted, as shown at 68, and to which is pivoted an operating rod 6| having a forked end 62 to straddle the shaft 5I and slide thereon.

The operating rod 6| carries a roller 63 which rides upon a clamp operating cam 64 secured on the cam shaft 5|. The cam acts to move the clamp into clamping and unclamping position.

Wire twisting or tying devices 65 are located in close proximity to the clamps 50 and as each are of the same construction as well as the drive means therefor, only one will be described in detail.

The wire twisting or tying device consists of. a y

slotted mounting 86 suitably secured on the baler and has journaled therein a twisting element 61 provided with a bore which extends from end to end of the twisting member 61 and the bore opens outwardly through a side of said twisting member in the form of a slot 68' to align with the slotted portion of the mounting 66 so that portions of the tying wire may be shoved therein by pushers 69 operating at each end of the twisting member 61. As shown in Figures 4, 6 and '7 the bore includes a cylindrical long part 68 and a short front part madein the form of a slot 68" which forms a continuation of slot 68'.

In order to rotate the twisting member 61 a` drive is provided therefor which includes a clutch 10 supported on a stub shaft 1| carried by the mounting 66 for the twisting member. The clutch 19 is in the form of a gear 12 meshing with a pinion 13 formed on the front end of the twisting member 61 and which pinion contains the slots 68'-68".

At this time it may be stated that the clutch 18 is of the overrunning type, as shown in Figure 8. The hub of the gear 12 has integral therewith a drum 16. A clutch disc 15 operates within the drum 14 and is secured on a hub 16 of a gear 11 journaled on the shaft 1|. The clutch disc 15 carries spring pressed balls `18 to engage the drum 14 and establish a driving connection between the gear 26 and the gear 12 when the clutch is rotating in oneidirection and to permit the gear 12 to idle when the'clutch is rotating in a reverse direction or the clutch disc 15 thereof. The balls 18 are mounted in pockets 19 formed in the clutch disc 15. A dust plate 80 is provided for closing the drum 14' and is supported by the hub of the gear 11. The gear 11 is in mesh with a rack bar 8|, a roller"82 carried by the mounting 66 slidably supports the rack bar in mesh with said gear 11. A lever 83 is pivotally mounted, as shown at 8l, and is pivotally connected to the rack bar and carries pose of maintaining the roller 85 in a roller'85 which Aridesthe cam 86 on the cam shaft 5|. i y

A pivotally mounted latch dog 814is employed for releasably securing the gear 12 of the clutch 10 against rotation by engagingin anotch 88 provided in the gear 12. An operating rod` 89 is pivotally connected to the latch dog Bland to a pivotally mounted lever 90 carrying a roller 9| which rides upon a cam 92 secured to the cam shaft 5| for disengagingthe latch dog 81 from the notch 88 of the gear 12 of the clutch. The rod 88 is spring influenced by a spring 93 to maintain the roller 9| in engagement with the cam 92.

When the tying device is to be operated to twist or tie a wire after the portions thereof have been positioned inthe twisting member 61 by the pushers 69, the cam 92 disengages the latch 81 from the notch 88 and the cam 86 operates the rack bar 8| to drive the gear 12 of the clutch 10 in one direction.l The rotation of the'gear 12 as stated rotates the twister 61 several times to one rotation of the gear 12 to bring about twisting of ge portions of wire together, as shown in Figure The cam 92-is of the quick operating type, that is, it immediately frees the latch dog 81 after it has been once disengaged from the notch 88so that the dog rides upon an annular face 95 on the gear12 until thegear 12 has made one complete revolution andthe dog 81 under the iniuence of the spring 93 then moves into the notch 88 stopping the rotation of the gear 12. The one complete rotation of thegear 12 is suicient to rotate the twisting member several times and in order that the slot 68 of the twisting member be opposite the groove in the mounting 66 to perof the rack bar 8| lthev overrunning clutch described permits the gear 11 thereof to rotate in a reverse direction while the vgear 12 remains idle. 'Thus it will be seen that the roller of the lever 83 rides the cam 92 continuously and brings about` the reciprocation of the rack bar 8|.

Springs 96 act 'on the rack bar 8| for the'purengagement with the cam 86 at all times.

The pushers 69 include slidably supported .rods 91 pivotally connected to operating levers 98 pivotally supported, as shown at 99, andthel levers 98 carry rollers |80 which ride cams |8| secured on the camshaft 5|. Springs |02 act upon the rods 91 to keep the rollers I 80 inv riding contact with the cams |0|. The rods 91 have pivoted thereto spring influenced lingers |03 provided with hook shaped ends |84. The fingers |03 are provided with shoulders |85 which normally engage the rodsV 91 under the` influence of the springs |05' of said fingers so that the fingers will be positioned at right angles to the rods. When the fingers or the shoulders thereof are in engagementwith the rods said rods sliding inv a given direction will carry the wires into the twisting members of the 'tying devices. However,it is to be seen that in order for theflngers to engage said wires for shoving them into the tying devices the fingers must swing in the direction of the arrow indicated to the left in Figure 10 so thattheilngerswillrideunderthewiresand permit the hook-shaped ends to engage therewith so that on movement of the rods I1 of the pushers in a reverse direction the wires will be carried into the'tying devices. A very clear illustration of the ilngcrsand the direction of move-' ment of said nngers is'indicated by arrows in Figure 10.

Cutters I are provided for severing the wires after being tied by the tying devices and as each is similarly constructed as well as the operating means therefor, only one of the cutters will be described in detail. `The cutter consists of a fixed knife |01 located on the mounting i6 and a movable blade III secured to a plunger |09. 'I'he plunger Ill is slidably mounted in a fixed sleeve III and is spring influenced by a spring I|| to normally occupy a non-cutting position. However, the plunger III! may be slid to bring the blade lll into cutting relation with the blade II1. The plunger Ill is engaged by a pivotally mounted lever Il! which carries a roller I Il that rides a cam Ill, secured on the cam shaft 5|. After the wires have been tied by the tying device the cam I Il operates the plunger and brings about severance of the wires by the blade IIB moving into cuttingrelation with the fixed blade |01.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that theneedles and the means of operating said' needles have been specifically described, also the wire clamping devices have beendescribed in detail as well as the means of moving the wires into the tying devices and further have described in detail the cutters for the wires and the operating means therefor. It is to be understood that all of these devices complete their respective operationson one complete revolution of the cam shaft l and that the latter is driven one complete revolution from the drive of the hay press by the manually actuated master clutch mechanism Il.

In first starting up the press the wires are pulled across the same and fastened in the clamps Il, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 16. The press is then started and as the hay is being pushedintothepressbytheramthewiresare forced into the press with one portion of each wire extending across the front end of the bale and the other portions along the sides thereof, as the bale is being formed, it being understood that the wires are simply pulled from the reels 4| during the formation of the bale. I'henwhen the bale is of suitable size the operator manipu latesthehandlelofshaftllsoastostartthe tyingoperation. Before this is done, however,

the feeding of the hay into the press is stopped Y and the ram permitted to make several strokes soastoclearthehopperofloosehaysothatthe hopper is empty'and the needles can readily pass throughthesameinrearofthebale. Aswill be seen from Figures 1'1 and 18, the needles carry the wires across the hopper in the form of elongated loops, one limb of the loop forming the fourth side of the wrap for the'formed bale` and the other limb of the loop forming the rst wire for the next bale. Then an instant before the needle pushes the loop into the clamp the clamp opens and drops the first wire or that wire leading from the side .of the completed bale. This allows the loop to enter the clamp and be held and the grooved roller on the needle next to the end of the bale will position its side ofthe loop along said first wire so that this iirst wire is caught in the groove in the roller. The roller next to the bale will push the end of the wire passing from the bale out of the clamp, as the clamp opens, thus leaving the clamp empty to receive the loop. The pushers now operate to push the one wire leading from the bale and the forward wire of the looped wire into the twisting means, leaving the rearward wire or the second limb of the wire Aloop in the clamp to form the nrst wire for the next bale. The needles after depositing the loops of wires in the clamps are moved out of the baler to their starting point.

The wire extending across the rear end of the bale and the end of the wire passing from the side of the bale are placed side by side in the cylindrical part 68 and the slot-like part El" of the twisting member and then this member is rotated so that the two portions of the wire held in the slot S8" are turned while being held in side by side relation and this causes a twisting together of those portions of the wire in the cylindrical part 68 of the bore of the twisting member so that the two parts of the wire are twisted together, as shown in Figure 20. After the wires are twisted together the cutting means come into action which cuts the wire between the twister and the clamp leaving the outer limb of the loop with its end in the clamp so that this limb of the wire will be engaged by the new bale. This new bale being formed will push the first bale out of the baler and this will pull the twisted part of, the wire out of the twister. Upon completion of the cutting action all parts return to their original or starting position.

Figure 16 shows in dotted lines how the wire could -be' placed in position across the press by hand at the initial starting of the press.

Figure 17 is a diagrammatic view showing the position of the parts after the bale has been formed and a needle moved forwardly to place the bight of the loop in the clamp 5|). Figure 18 is a view showing the needle moving back to the starting point and the plunger ready to push the wire into the twister. Figure 19 is a view showing the parts in position ready to twist the wire.

It will -be seen thatl the operator can at any time set the present invention in operation for tyingthe bale. This will give the operator complete control over the size of the bale formed and tied in the baler and by the present invention.

While we have shown and described the preferred embodiment of our invention, it will be understood that minor changes in construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described the invention, what we claim is:

1. In a wire tying device for hay balers, a mounting havinga slot in one edge, a twisting member Journaled in said mounting at the inner end ofthe slot and having a bore of different diameters opening outwardly through one side thereof to register with the slot to receive wires, and a drive mechanism for the twisting member and4 including an overrunning clutch and latch mechanism for` rotating the twisting member a predetermined num-ber of revolutions and stopping said twisting member with the slot of the bore in registration with the slot of the mounting.

3. In a Wire tying device, a mounting having a slot, a twisting member journaled in said mounting and having a bore opening'outwardly through a side thereof to align with the slot to receive wires and having the bore of diierent diameters, a gear secured to said twisting member, an overrunning clutch including a gear meshing with said rst-named gear and a. drum secured to said second-named gear and forming a journal therefor and -a clutch disc having spring influenced balls to engage the drum and a drive pinion secured to the disc, and an operating means for rotating the last-named gear.

4. In a wire tying device, a mounting having a slot, a twisting member journaled -in said mounting and having a bore opening outward-ly through a side thereof to align with the slot to receive wires andhaving the bore'of different diameters,

a gear secured to said twisting member, an overrunning clutch including a gear meshing with said first-named 4gear and a drum secured to said second-named gear and forming a, journal therevfor and a clutch disc having spring influenced balls to'engage the drum and a drive pinion-se,- cured to the disc, and a rack'bar for imparting rotation to the last-named gear in opposite directions, and a power driven cam mechanism for actuating the rack bar. f

5. In a wire tying device, a supporting member having a longitudinally extending elongated slot therein, a member rotatably arranged inthe supporting member and having a bore passing therethrough and a slot extending from end to end therein and connecting the bore with the slot of the supporting member when 4the rotary member is in a certain position, one end of the bore being slit and forming a continuation of theslot in the rotary member, the rest of the bore being of cylindrical shape in cross section and' of greater cross sectional area than the slotted part of the bore, the slotted part of the bore receiving parts of a, wire to be tied' together with other parts extended into the cylindrical portion, and means for rotating the rotary member which causes rotary movement of the two parts in the slotted part of the bore and twists together the parts in the cylindrical portion ofthe bore.

6. In a wire tying device, a mounting having a slot in one edge, a twisting member journaled in Asaid mounting at the inner end of the slot and having a bore of different diameters opening outwardly through one side thereof to register with the slot to receive'wires, and -a drive mechanism for the twisting member and including means adapted for rotating the twisting member a predetermined number of revolutions and stop- Iping said twisting member with the slot of the bore in registration with the slot of the mounting.

. LAWRENCE G. EVERHARv T. s GLENN H. EVERHART.

WALTER D. EVERHART. 

